Tag: Immune System

Homeopathy Remedies – The Case For

Many people, disillusioned and disgruntled with conventional medical practices and medicines, have begun to seek out homeopathy remedies to help them manage and treat all manner of medical conditions and diseases. However, before jumping in and opting for homeopathy it is best to have an understanding about just what homeopathy is and how it differs from conventional medicine.

Homeopathy plainly put, is using like for like to treat. That means if a patient presents with insomnia, then coffee what we traditionally consider to be one of the a reasons for insomnia, is what a homeopathic practitioner would use to treat insomnia. It should be further explained that the coffee would be prescribed in the most minute of proportions.

What homeopathy remedies are also concerned with is treating the patient and not simply the disease or the condition. This is why when someone goes to see a homeopathic practitioner for a consultation, it will take some time for a full patient history to be taken. The practitioner is interested in documenting all areas of a patient’s life from diet, to family medical history, personal medical history, mental background, allergies, exercise regime, everything! Only then can a full picture of how to treat the patient be reached.

One of the homeopathy remedies for allergies that clearly indicates the like for like principle, on which all homeopathy is based, is the use of honey. Local honey is prescribed to beat allergies because in local honey can be found the exact geographical allergens that will trigger Hay Fever, for example. In exposing the body to these local allergens via the local honey, homeopathic practitioners believe that the body’s own immune system then has a basis on which to fight local allergies. It is this same belief that underlines the use of many vaccines that conventional medicines make use of: small pox, measles etc.

Homeopathy and conventional medicine though at times operating at different ends of the spectrum, do at times make use of the same ingredients. Take acne for instance, the recognized homeopathic remedy for acne is sulfur. Sulfur is often mixed with alcohol and salicylic acid to make an anti-bacterial paste that is applied to the skin. If you look closely at the tubes and boxes of conventional medical ointments for acne, that are available from your local pharmacy, you will see that the base ingredient of these ointments is sulfur.

The other great thing to remember about homeopathy remedies is that one of the main positives is that there are no side effects with using them. That means they are perfectly safe for young children, pregnant women and they can even be used in conjunction with many conventional medication.

So, do your research and find yourself a reputable homeopathic practitioner!

What Is An Allergy?

Theres a lot of talk about allergies. But just what
is an allergy and what causes them? Why do some people
have them while others dont? And why are people with
one allergy more inclined to have many?

The immune system is set up to protect our bodies from
harmful, foreign substances. Like viruses and bacteria
(dirt and germs). Sometimes the immune system doesnt
develop properly or is just oversensitive and doesnt
react right.

In these cases, it reacts to things that arent
harmful and dont usually cause people any problems.
These things are called allergens. The term allergens
is just an easier way to say things that cause
allergies.

When the oversensitive or improperly developed immune
system sees these allergens, it sends out chemicals
like histamine. Its the histamines that cause the
symptoms that are common with allergies.

Symptoms like itching, watery eyes, runny nose,
swelling, hives or rashes. Different people have
different symptoms, but the causes are the same.

The symptoms that are displayed depend on the part of
the body the allergen comes in contact with. Allergens
that are breathed in, like pollen or dust cause
coughing or wheezing, stuffy or runny noses and an
itchy nose and throat.

Plant allergies usually come in contact with the skin,
so they cause rashes.

Food allergies usually result in nausea, vomiting,
stomach pains or in severe cases, life threatening
reactions. Drug allergies tend to involve the entire
body, so they have a variety of symptoms.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 14th, 200

Tips and tricks to better your memory

Memory is important in our lives. It will not only tell us who we are and remind us of the things that have happened in our lives, it will also give us the knowledge that we need to survive. We use memory when we learn new lessons in school or when we are studying for an exam. We also need an excellent memory when socializing. People who can remember names and people appear to be warmer and are better conversationalists than people who are forgetful. Thus it is important that you start bettering your memory.

Below are some tips on how to improve your memory. Some you can do to improve your brains function while the others are preventive measures that will help you have great memory skills even after old age.

1. Change your lifestyle
As far-fetched as it seems, what you do with your life can affect your memory. Thus, people who want to better their memory do not only try out memory techniques but also change their whole lifestyle. You can start by avoiding vices that will hurt your brain processes. This includes smoking and drinking beyond the one bottle a day limit for women and two bottles a day for men. This is of course for beers only.

Stress is another factor that can lessen your memory skills. Stress have been shown to not only weaken the body and the immune system but also to weaken the mental processes. Since stress cannot really be avoided, you need to make sure that you find ways to relax and curtail stress. You can do this by resting your head on weekends and having enough sleep everyday. You should also start exercising and meditating which are both good for the brain.

2. Change your diet
What you eat will determine who you are. This may be a clich but it is true nonetheless. If you want to have a more powerful brain, you should make sure that you include in your diet what is often called the brain foods. These are foods that contain choline and proteins which help in the development of the brain. Examples of these brain foods are tuna, salmon and other fishes; soya, tofu, milk, peanuts and meat which are rich in proteins. Veggies and fruits also help by keeping the body strong and rich in supply of anti-oxidants. Young children in fact are encouraged to eat lots of these foods especially at that age when their brains are still developing.

3. Exercise your mind
One of the reasons why the brain slows down is because it is not used as often as it should be used. There are studies in fact that support this. People who answer crossword puzzles, play strategic games and work even when they are old are less likely to have Alzheimers. The use of the brain is actually a preventive measure for the onset of forgetfulness during old age.

4. Use memory techniques
Your brain also needs you help. It does not mean that if your brain is powerful, you will not make the job easy for it. If you want to better your memory, use memory techniques that will help you remember more. One example is the use of mnemonics, or key letters or words that will represent a whole lot of information. Another memory technique is the association, which allows you to associate an information or item with something that you can already see or what you already know.

Capsular Contracture

When a foreign object inters our body, our immune system tries to either destroy it or contain it. Some immune systems interpret a breast implant as a foreign object. Since the immune system cant destroy an implant, it tries to contain it. It attempts to build a wall around the intruder to keep it from spreading to the rest of the body. The wall around the implant is called a capsule.

When the capsule tightens around the implant its called capsular contracture. The squeezing can be painful and can change the shape of the breast. The changed shape can affect the appearance of the breast as well.

The severity of the capsular contracture varies between cases. With the mildest case, the breast looks normal and still feels soft. This is classified as grade 1. Grade 2 still looks normal, but the breast is a little firm. At grade 3, the breast is firm and the appearance is considered abnormal. Grade 4 is the most severe and the most painful. The breast looks abnormal and is hard.

You may have to have another operation to fix capsular contracture. The capsule has to be removed, and sometimes the implant has to be replaced. But there are cases where successful treatments have been achieved without any additional surgery.

Its not known exactly what causes the bodys immune system to behave abnormally towards an implant, but capsular contracture can happen after any implant or implant repair surgery. Not just breast implants.